


Montezuma

by daughtershade



Category: Magnificent Seven (TV), NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-21
Updated: 2011-06-21
Packaged: 2017-10-20 14:44:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/213880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daughtershade/pseuds/daughtershade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The murder of a Marine Corporal brings Gibbs and the NCIS team in conflict with Denver’s ATF special unit Team Seven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Montezuma

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank settiai for asking for this prompt because it let me write in TWO fandoms that I love, but have never written in.
> 
> This takes place sometime during NCIS Season 5, the current season, but there aren’t any real spoilers. There is mention of fallout from the season opener “Bury Your Dead” but nothing specific. Also there is a slight mention of events from the Season 4 episode “Dead Man Walking”.
> 
> As for the Mag7 boys, of course I have to give a nod to Mog who originally came up with the universe and was kind enough to let everyone else play in it. The only episode spoilers that could be considered for Mag7 is a mention of the Season 2 episode “Lady Killers” all-be-it a modernized ATF version of it.
> 
> I have also alluded to a previous friendship between the NCIS character Dr. Donald Mallard (AKA Ducky) and the Magnificent Seven character Judge Orrin Travis. This is meant as a nod to Man from UNCLE fans since the characters are played by David McCallum and Robert Vaughn respectively. They were, of course, the two main actors from MUNCLE.
> 
> The title of this fic not only references the Marines’ Hymn, but also the more common use of ‘Montezuma’s Revenge.’ Both of which seemed apt for the meeting of these two teams.

“I know a guy,” the man said with a very untrustworthy smile.

Normally that would be an issue, but in a gunrunner untrustworthy was practically a recommendation. The military grade weapons were a problem. Ezra hadn’t heard of any new players in town and now this Grant, ‘please call me Tony,’ fellow had dropped into the middle of his undercover operation without so much as a how-do-you-do. He knew that somehow he had to get word out to Chris and the others without arousing Mr. Lichtermann’s suspicions.

Ezra had been working his way into Lichtermann’s organization for the past five months. Difficult didn’t begin to describe the ordeal. The German was extremely paranoid about new hires. It had taken all of Ezra’s considerable skill to get as far as he had. Fortunately, Lichtermann appreciated underlings with a hint of intelligence. Ezra had shown his skill with numbers and had become somewhat of a negotiator. The German glanced over at him, and Ezra pulled his attention away from the smiling salesman.

“Bennett, take care of it,” Lichtermann said moving away to take a phone call.

Ezra nodded and stepped forward. He frowned at the crate of four M249 SAWs staring back at him. They were large machine guns mainly used for suppression fire. Formidable weapons once Mr. Grant provided the firing pins. Ezra hated to think what would happen if they managed to get onto the streets.

“Nineteen,” Grant said, the large grin never leaving his face.

Ezra smirked and replied, “My dear sir, we both know that this…box of joy is only worth at best fifteen thousand. Try again.”

“Eighteen.”

“Sixteen.”

“Deal.”

There was something suspiciously off about Mr. Grant. Ezra couldn’t describe what it was exactly, but there was a definite feeling in his gut. Perhaps he’d been spending too much time with Vin. Ezra turned to look the man in the eye.

“This _guy_ you know, can he provide you with more?”

“More?” Grant asked.

The tone was perfect, but everyone has their tells. The involuntary widening of the iris and the faintest clench of the jaw gave Mr. Grant away. Ezra smirked on the inside. _I have you now. Why does the thought of doing more business bother you, sir? Perhaps like myself you are not what you appear to be._

****

“I don’t like this,” Ziva said dropping the field glasses from her face for the third time. Tim pursed his lips at the statement and didn’t look up from the files he was going over in the back seat.

“I don’t care. Tony can handle himself, Ziva,” Gibbs snapped and went back to watching the warehouse.

“We are too far away and without him having a wire we will not know if he even needs us until it is too late. It is reckless.”

“You’re just mad Gibbs didn’t send you,” Tim muttered.

“I have experience in espionage. Tony is… _Tony_.”

“He also happens to be an experienced Senior Agent, so do me a favor and quit yammering.”

Tim looked up in time to see the scathing look Ziva tossed their boss across the car. Thankfully, she knew enough to stay quiet after what was most definitely an order. He knew they were all just worried about Tony and taking it out on each other, but it couldn’t be helped. The Lichtermann syndicate out of Denver was the only link they had in the murder of Corporal David Miralles. Tony had come up with the idea of sending someone in as an arms merchant. With their access to weapons it was easy to set something up that Lichtermann wouldn’t be able to resist. The problem was the crime boss’ notorious cagey streak. They had to provide some pretty hefty weaponry even to get an audience with the man. Abbey had done an excellent job setting up an alias for Tony. They expected to get a hit on Tony _Grant’s_ record before the final meet. Lichtermann was no fool.

Tim looked over the files that Fornell had provided them about Lichtermann’s associates, all thanks to some of Gibbs’ special brand of persuasion. The two had been growling at each other all week and it was only after one of their infamous elevator sessions that Fornell offered the information. Tim was worried what exactly Gibbs had traded for the goods, but he wasn’t going to ask. The only issue was the new guy on the list. Elliot Bennett’s folder was pretty slim compared to the other goons that Lichtermann had working for him. He had a background as a stock trader before some questionable dealings had gotten him kicked off Wall Street. Somehow no charges seemed to stick so Bennett had walked. He was definitely white collar all the way. Tim just couldn’t see the connection to Lichtermann. The mystery man had apparently appeared in Denver five months ago and his rise in the syndicate was unprecedented. Tim let out a deep breath.

“What is it, McGee?” Gibbs asked.

Tim looked up and met the older man’s blue eyes in the rearview mirror. He hadn’t realized that he was being watched. Then again, most things didn’t get by Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

“This Bennett guy. I can’t figure him out. He’s in a completely different league than Lichtermann.”

“Even made men have to have financial advice now and again. Hell, they probably need it more than us. After all, Uncle Sam’s always watching, wanting his cut.”

“I somehow doubt that these are loyal tax paying citizens, Gibbs,” Ziva said from under her binoculars.

“True enough.”

Tim explained, “It’s just that the file is awful thin for someone running with these type of guys. Are you sure this was all Fornell had?”

“No, McGee, I’m not. I’m lucky he didn’t want to come with us.”

“Yes, that would have been a trial, being trapped in a car with a grumpy old agent. It would be intolerable,” Ziva replied dryly, still not taking her eyes off the warehouse.

Tim ducked his head to hide his smile at the icy glare that she received in response from Gibbs.

*****

Nathan did another quick survey of the bar without seeing his target. His eyes automatically landed back across the table to Josiah who was watching a soccer match on the big screen behind Nate’s shoulder.

“Settle down, brother. He’ll show,” Josiah comforted without bothering to look away from the screen.

Nathan took another sip of his diet cola. The yuppie sports bar wasn’t his type of place, but they’d agreed that he and Josiah fit in more than say Vin or Buck would have. It was the type of place that Elliot Bennett would fit in exactly, which was the whole point really. Ezra had picked out the place when pulling together his cover. He’d gone so far as to make himself noticed as a regular well before working his way into Lichtermann’s organization. Nathan had to admire Ezra’s dedication to detail. It’s what made him the best. While the two of them would probably never see eye-to-eye on everything, he could never fault the Southerner on his undercover work. He just wished that Ezra didn’t feel the need for a front in his personal life as well. Josiah with his psychology and profiling experience had assured Nathan that Ezra was probably more open with the six of them than he had been with anyone else, but they couldn’t expect the man to throw away a life’s worth of defenses easily.

“There he is,” Nathan said refocusing on the door.

Ezra took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink. While he hadn’t looked directly at their table, Nathan was sure he knew they were there. Josiah had given the slightest of nods at his statement, and continued watching the game. They’d give it a while. After a drink or two Ezra would leave any information he had gathered in the furthest bathroom stall for one of them to retrieve. The need for such elaborate drops was all due to Lichtermann’s suspicious nature. Being the new guy on the block, Ezra was still occasionally followed. Having foreseen this, Ezra had set up the bar. He would stop by on his way home a few times a week. It seemed casual, but wasn’t. There was an elaborate schedule that made the stops seem random or inconsequential, while still allowing Team Seven to keep track of their agent. The drawn out nature of the assignment was a worry to all of them, especially Nathan. He hated whenever any of the team risked themselves. Ez lived for the thrill of the con, but he wasn’t alone anymore. He had six brothers nervously awaiting the return of one of their own.

Ezra headed for the restroom after only one drink. It was a sign that something was up. Nathan kept his head down and tried to keep his eyes off the man so as not to draw too much attention. After he’d left the restroom, he said something to the hostess that made her laugh and was out the door. It was a quick stop. Nathan frowned into his soda. Josiah cracked his neck and rose to his feet.

“Take care of the tab,” he said in his deep booming voice and headed for the restroom.

Nathan signaled their waitress. He waited outside in the cooling night air for Josiah to join him. The pair headed for Nathan’s X-Terra and back to the Federal building. The office was pretty quiet until the elevator doors opened to their floor. A loud bellow could be heard beyond the glass door that led to the Denver ATF Team Seven office. Josiah tossed Nathan a look as they stepped through.

Buck stood next to his desk with his arm stretched above his head. Nathan couldn’t see what the tall man was holding, but it obviously belonged to JD who was hopping at Buck’s side trying to retrieve it.

“Buck! Come on, Buck! Give it back!” JD said and started swearing under his breath. The shorter agent didn’t have a chance. Neither agent seemed to notice their arrival, but Vin, who was sitting at his desk with his feet propped up on the corner, nodded his head at them in greeting. Nathan smiled back. Josiah reached out and poked a finger roughly into Buck’s side causing him to bend in two. JD took the opportunity and grabbed the closed fist and started trying to pry it open. Chris Larabee stepped out of his office in time to see the scuffle.

“Will you two knock it off! Conference room, gentlemen,” Chris barked.

Nathan followed their leader ignoring the argument behind him that Josiah had found himself dragged into. Vin got to his feet and gave Nathan a concerned look.

“How’s Ezra?”

“Something’s up. It was a one beer night and he didn’t stay long. I want to see what he left us.”

They both took their seats with the other three quickly filing in behind them. Josiah tossed a small troll doll onto the table. It had bright purple hair sticking straight up and someone had written Buck’s name on its protruding little belly in black marker. Chris stared down at the toy as if would jump off the table at any moment. He shook his head slightly but didn’t comment.

“What do you have?” he asked.

Josiah reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of small notepaper. Nathan leaned over and saw Ezra’s perfect penmanship. The profiler glanced over the notes before he started to read.

“New player. Tony Grant. 4 M249’s possibly more. Not what he seems. Final deal Logan St & 18th Ave. 11PM Monday.”

Buck whistled at the mention of the SAWs. JD looked up at Chris and got a nod. He left the conference room to run Grant’s records.

“’Not what he seems.’ Sounds like Ezra is getting nervous,” Vin commented.

“Ol’ Ez don’t get nervous,” Buck replied.

“He was in and out quick at the bar tonight. That’s not a good sign,” Nathan added.

Chris crossed his arms and said, “I wonder. If he’s a gun dealer, ‘not what he seems’ would mean what?”

“You think he might be a cop, pard?” Vin asked, catching Chris’ line of thought.

“DPD wouldn’t be able to get SAWs.”

“Fibbies, wonderful,” Buck growled.

“Josiah, check downstairs with the FBI see if they’re running any operations right now.”

“If they’ll admit to it,” Nathan said.

“Buck, when JD gets those records about Grant, go over them with him. Use a fine tooth comb. We don’t need any surprises right now. Ezra’s about handed us everything we’ll need to close down Lichtermann’s operation. We’re too close for screw-ups.”

****

Abby blinked into the web camera waiting for a response. After a moment her monitor showed Tim fussing with the laptop. She could hear Gibbs’ indistinct grumble in the background. Ziva crossed behind McGee and disappeared out of frame.

“Hey, McGee! Can you see me?” Abby asked waving to the camera.

“Hey Abs!” Tony yelled from somewhere beyond the camera.

“Hey, Mr. Grant,” she replied with a grin.

A hand slapped the back of McGee’s head and he quickly moved out of the way. Gibbs sat down in front of the computer with his ever present cup of coffee.

“What do you have, Abby?”

“The trace and blood samples that Ducky pulled from the body still haven’t matched anything in the system. I’ve used the military and criminal databases and zip. Sorry, Gibbs. I do have some interesting information though. I got a hit on Mr. Grant’s record.”

“That’s not much of a surprise. We knew Lichtermann was an operator.”

Abby raised her finger and posed for the camera in her best Sherlock Holmes impression and said, “Ah, but the record was hit _twice_!”

“Twice?” Tony’s voice asked.

“I traced the IPs. The first directed to an open wireless network in downtown Denver.”

McGee leaned into frame behind Gibbs and said, “Lichtermann.”

“Exactly. The second IP originated out of the Denver Federal Building. I slammed into their firewall hard when I did the trace.”

“Federal building?” McGee asked.

“You think Fornell’s keeping tabs on us, boss?” Tony asked, leaning into frame behind Gibbs from the other side. His head butted up against McGee’s and Abby tried not to giggle at the three men peering back at her through the net with similar contemplative looks.

Gibbs answered Tony’s question without taking his eyes off the camera. “Fornell already knows about our operation. He wouldn’t need to look up the record. You have anything else, Abs?”

“I checked with the Federal Building’s Sys Admin. He wasn’t going to give anything up without a warrant, but I sweet talked him into tracing the request. He isolated it to the Denver ATF.”

“Way to go, Abby!”

“Putty in my hands, Tony. Putty in my hands.”

A slim hand reached out and grabbed Tony’s ear pulling him out of frame. After some yelps and one smacking noise, Ziva leaned in and took Tony’s place. She said, “Now why would the ATF be interested in Tony?”

Gibbs rolled his eyes and replied to her over his shoulder. “Because we just offered Lichtermann heavy weapons. They must have someone inside.”

“Bennett,” Tony replied popping up over Gibbs’ shoulder like a gopher making his boss and Ziva lean back to avoid his head.

McGee agreed, “That would explain his file, boss.”

“You sure, Tony?” Gibbs asked.

“He unnerved me. I think he knew I was a cop. He’s an underling and when he looked at me with those piercing green eyes, it made me sweat more than Lichtermann and all his goons put together.”

Behind the two of them, Abby saw McGee and Ziva exchange a look over the ‘piercing green eyes’ comment. They both ended up shaking their heads at their teammate’s antics. Abby smiled.

“He wouldn’t have unnerved me,” Ziva muttered.

“If he is under, boss, he’s been there a while,” McGee said to the back of Gibbs’ head, “If we go after Lichtermann, we could blow his cover.”

“Or he could have the information we need about Miralles’ death. Abby, see if you can get some info about the ATF out here in Denver. And sweet talk that guy again, I want to know who in their division is pulling Tony’s rap sheet.”

“You got it, Gibbs! Bye guys! Tell Ducky I said, hi!”

She heard several goodbyes before the line disconnected. Taking a big sip from her Caf Pow, she started typing.

****

JD stared at the monitor with a frown. Pulling Grant’s information hadn’t been too difficult, but there was something off about it that he just couldn’t put his finger on. The sheet was too clean. Something he had learned about Federal databases is that they were messier than people would like to believe. The crawlers pulled information from many different sources and not all of it was accurate. Buck had already left for the evening on a date with some girl whose name JD hadn’t caught, but Buck had given a description of her, most of which involved the use of cupped hands. He smirked at his roommate in absence and looked around the office. Josiah and Nathan had gone home already. Vin wasn’t around, but his computer was still on which meant he was probably still in the building. Chris’ office was dark, lit only by his desk lamp. It was a sign that he wanted to be left alone, or that he was taking a nap on the couch. The naps were something that JD had never caught him at, but was assured by Buck occurred.

“After all,” Buck had said, “he just wants us to _think_ he runs on bad coffee.”

JD really wished that Ezra wasn’t undercover. Normally, late at night when everyone else was home or walking around the office like zombies, Ezra was in his prime. He also had a keen eye for detail that had helped JD out more than once while doing research. Thinking about Ezra reminded him how long it had been since he’d last seen the man. JD sighed and hoped that they wrapped the case up soon. No one liked having a member of the team out of touch for too long. Team Seven had a reputation. No matter how clean an operation, trouble always seemed to find them. This op had been relatively quiet and now that it was drawing to a close, JD couldn’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop. He just hoped it didn’t drop on Ezra.

With another sigh, JD started checking the log reports for the database and noticed something unusual. While the records for Grant were indeed flawless they had apparently all been updated recently and at the same time. He frowned. No record should have such time stamping unless it had all been recently generated or placed on file in one big batch.

JD glanced back at Chris’ door wondering if his suspicions were enough to warrant knocking and possibly waking up his boss. When his eyes flickered back to the screen he was surprised to see a flicker and then a message window pop up.

 _  
**hello. aren’t we nosey?**   
_

“Chris!” he yelled staring at the prompt. Within moments Larabee was out of his door and across the room. “Look at this! I was just going to tell you what I found when this popped up.”

“What is it?” Chris asked.

“It’s a message window. Someone’s inside the network. I just figured out that all of Grant’s files were all updated recently at the same time.”

“Someone just put them into the database.”

“Yup. Looks like Ezra was right. Tony Grant may be a cover.”

“When is he not right?” Chris replied with a touch of annoyance in his voice.

JD grinned and asked, “What should I do?”

“Talk to them. I want to know who it is. Is there a way we can trace it?”

“Terry down in IT can. If I try, I’m afraid I’ll break the connection or tip them off.”

“I’ll call. You keep them talking.”

JD watched him walk back toward his office. Turning to face the monitor, he stared at the blinking prompt a moment before typing a reply.

 _I’m paid to be nosey._

 _  
**who isn’t?**   
_

_How’d you get onto the network? I’m impressed._

 _  
**it’s not like denver is the pentagon.**   
_

_I doubt you’ve hacked the Pentagon. It’s a bear._

 _  
**tried have you? :P**   
_

_I promised my boss that I wouldn’t anymore. He keeps getting threatening phone calls._

 _  
**you mean chris larabee?**   
_

JD’s hands froze over the keys. It was scary that the nameless person on the other end already knew who they were talking to. Slowly he let out his breath. It was obviously someone in law enforcement, most likely on the federal level. They’d easily have access to Team Seven’s files if they were able to insert Tony Grant’s record with little difficulty. He was probably talking to another Fed.

 _He’s not the kind of person that responds well to threats._

 _  
**sounds like my boss. we should totally do lunch. are you cute? you sound cute.**   
_

_That depends on if you’re a girl or not. Please tell me that you are, or I’m about to be wicked freaked._

 _  
**ha. yes, i’m a girl. what, you think girls can’t use computers too?**   
_

_Now you sound like my girlfriend. I should have picked up on it earlier._

 _  
**girlfriend? poo. i see you finally got terry to ping me. guess i’d better go now. ttyl.**   
_

The connection abruptly cut off. JD frowned at the last message. He looked over to see Chris hanging up the phone in his office. Quickly, he jumped to his feet and headed over.

“She cut off the connection,” he explained, “and she knew who Terry was.”

“That jibes with him. He said some NCIS forensic specialist was tracking some activity earlier and she seemed interested in our office. I guess this Abby person must have been who you were talking too. Now what’s NCIS doing involved in all of this?”

“They’d definitely have access to SAWs. That’s Marine Corp issue. They can’t be after weapons because Lichtermann hasn’t had any access to military grade stuff inside the country that we’ve uncovered.”

“I’m going to call the Judge. He should be able to get more information out of NCIS than we could.”

“I don’t think you should call now, Chris. It’s after one,” JD replied looking at the clock.

Chris wiped a hand across his face and said, “You’re right. It’s so late, it’s early. Go home. I’ll talk to Travis in the morning. I hope for Ezra’s sake we get some answers soon.”

****

Orin stepped out of the elevator into a dark hallway and took his bearings. In his many years as a Judge he’d never had reason to access this part of the Federal Building. The morgue was alien to him. He saw the aftermath of it in M.E. reports and crime scene photographs, but he had never visited the place in person. The directions his secretary had received were easy to follow if a bit more involved. The hallways in the basement were full of twists and turns and they reminded him more of a rabbit warren than the slick offices upstairs ever did. Orin paused at the metal wrapped swinging door. It was pockmarked and scratched attesting to the many gurneys that had slammed past its gate. Carefully, he swung the door inward to a rather brightly lit, tiled room. It resembled a large shower room aside from the big metal table in its center. Small square refrigerator doors lined the far wall giving an even greater hint to the room’s use.

There was a high wooden table against one wall. It sat underneath a hanging light with two stools pulled up to it. The old wood looked alien in the metal and tile room, but despite this the table looked scarred and well used. A short man in a white coat was bent over it mumbling to himself. His back was turned to Orin, but his identity was unmistakable.

“Ducky,” Orin said softly, and as he guessed the room carried his voice well.

The man turned from the table, pushing up his glasses until he could get a good look at his visitor. His face brightened in recognition and it wasn’t long before Orin was enveloped in a hug. He smiled back at his old friend and as usual tried to ignore the faint smell of formaldehyde that clung to the man.

“Orin, my God, it’s been ages! How’s Evie?” Ducky asked enthusiastically.

“She’s as spry as ever. I keep asking her when she’s going to run off with a younger man, but she just says she’s put up with me so long she doesn’t have the strength,” Orin replied with a chuckle.

“It’s good to see you. I’ve been meaning to take the time to go by your office, but unfortunately I’ve been rather busy this trip.”

“So I’ve come to understand. In fact, I’m afraid I didn’t come down here for a social call, old friend. I need to know what NCIS is doing in the middle of one of my cases.”

“Your case? I’m here to examine the body of a murdered Marine. I hardly think that should have anything to do with…” Ducky trailed off and his bright eyes got a knowing look. “You’re in charge of the ATF operation that Jethro and Abby have been telling me about.”

Orin squinted at this and said, “Team Seven reports to me, yes. One of their agents, a young man by the name of Ezra Standish, has been undercover for months now and we’re very close to shutting down one of the major weapons importers in the Northwest. We, along with the RCMP, have been trying to close this hole in the boarder for years. Now your agents show up at the last minute, and they may jeopardize everything.”

“Orin, a young Marine is dead. His family and his country deserve answers. That’s why we’re here.”

“I’m not criticizing your job, Ducky, just your timing.”

“You need to explain to Jethro what’s going on. He’s not going to back down on this case, no matter how important your operation.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Perhaps there is some way we can be of assistance to each other. The sharing of information can only help.”

Orin gave a skeptical grunt. He knew that Ducky meant well, but the man had obviously never met anyone as stubborn as Chris Larabee before.

****

Vin was taking his time typing out a report on his scout of the address for the meet that Ezra had supplied them with. It was an empty office building west of St Luke’s. There was a big hotel across the street that would make it easy for the guys to do surveillance on the place. Buck and JD were going over the phony cover information about the seller again. The kid had already explained his midnight chat in detail with both him and Buck. The ladies man had starting teasing JD over his internet girlfriend. Vin was upset that he had missed the whole thing. Josiah and Nathan weren’t coming in for a while yet since they were pulling Ezra watching duty again later that evening. Tired of typing, Vin peered over his shoulder to see Chris giving his own monitor dirty looks. The elevator bell pulled his attention away from their leader. He could hear two voices arguing in the hall as they approached the propped open door to Team Seven’s office.

“You stabbed him,” a young man said matter-of-factly over his shoulder. Vin could tell it was obviously and old argument by the tiredness of his tone. It seemed out of character with the boyish face.

“Why must you say it like that?” a young woman asked following him into the room. Her dark hair and flashing dark eyes gave her an unusual look, but it wasn’t her beauty that Vin noticed. The fluid way she moved was a dead giveaway that she could handle herself. He had a brief moment of worry over what would happen when Buck laid eyes on her.

“Because you _stabbed_ him,” the young man repeated flatly.

“It isn’t as if he needed that kidney. You can live a perfectly normal life with just one,” the woman argued.

Vin raised his eyebrows at that. An older man stepped into the office behind the younger pair and his eyes scanned the room like a professional. He immediately wrote off JD and Buck who had yet to notice their entrance, but his eyes locked with Vin. The former Army Ranger rose to his feet to meet the trio and he forced himself not to straighten his stance at the older man’s gaze.

“Can I help, ya?”

“I want to talk to whoever’s in charge,” the older man asked.

“That’d be me,” Chris said coming up behind Vin’s shoulder.

The man opened a badge and flashed his ID. The two behind him followed suit.

“What does NCIS want from us?” Chris asked.

“I want to talk to you about your man in Lichtermann’s camp.”

Vin’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything. Chris gave a mean looking grin and replied, “You’d be Grant’s boss then?”

“Special Agent Gibbs. This is Special Agent McGee and Officer David.”

“Travis said you’d be coming,” Chris replied and nodded his head toward the conference room.

Vin casually walked behind the agents with Buck and JD bringing up the rear. Officer David stood with her back to the wall. Gibbs immediately took Chris’ chair at the head of the table with McGee taking the chair to his right. Vin tried not to grin at the sound of Chris’ teeth grinding. He hadn’t been sure what the conversation with Travis had been about that morning, but the whole time he’d been typing up his report he’d heard the low sound of Chris’ voice coming from the office. That was never a good sign. Whenever Larabee was powerful mad he had the tendency to rumble like an old grizzly bear. Buck had taken to occasionally calling Chris’ office ‘The Cage.’ Ezra, of course, hadn’t helped the image any when he had left a raw piece of meat on the man’s desk after one of their more successful prank wars.

“Travis said you’re here about a Marine’s murder. While I appreciate your need to find the bastard that did it, you’ve got to understand what’s at stake here. Hundreds if not thousands of lives are on the line if Lichtermann stays in business. He’s bringing in more guns than we’ve even been able to track. His connections reach as far as Miami and New York. He’s the linchpin in taking down the whole network. No one has gotten as close as we have. If you’ve been talking to the FBI, and if you’re smart you probably have, you know that they’ve tried several times and came up empty.”

“I don’t give a damn about Lichtermann other than someone in his organization is probably responsible for Corporal Miralles’ death. I was hoping your man inside might be able to shed some light on that,” Gibbs said meeting Chris’ steely look with one of his own.

Vin leaned back in his chair and watched the man. Where Chris’ gaze was hot like the sun, Gibbs’ was as cold as permafrost. They were definitely two sides of the same coin. Vin had always trusted his gut more than anything. It had saved his life on the streets growing up and more than a few times when he was with the Rangers. While Gibbs was imposing, and obviously former military, Vin would bet anything that he was a good man to work for, just like Chris was a good man to take orders from. Speaking of Chris, Vin glanced over at him after Gibbs’ announcement he could tell the tension in the room had bracketed up a few more notches.

“We don’t contact Ezra. He contacts us. If you did your homework, you know Lichtermann is paranoid. Ezra’s conditions are the only reason we’ve succeeded where others have failed.”

Vin’s eyes raked over Officer David and Agent McGee before he looked back at Gibbs and said, “If Ezra knew something about your Corporal he would have let us know already.”

“Perhaps he hasn’t been asking the right questions,” Officer David said quietly. “He is after arms, yes? Why would he ask about murder?”

“He wouldn’t unless he wanted to get himself shot, darlin’,” Buck said giving her his patented you-know-you-like-it smile.

Officer David’s face was neutral but somehow it still came off as a sneer. Vin smirked and shot a look at JD who shared the silent joke. Chris crossed his arms, ignoring the three of them, and stayed focused on Gibbs.

He said, “You’re just going to have to wait.”

McGee cringed and looked back and forth between the two before replying, “He doesn’t like waiting.”

“Well then you’d better hope he’s not too old to learn new tricks,” Chris said his eyes never leaving Gibbs’ cold blue ones.

Agent Gibbs got to his feet and gave a smile with no warmth. He asked, “That’s the way you want it?”

“That’s the way it is.”

Gibbs cocked his head and then with quick, efficient movements he was out the door. McGee and David followed the latter lingering a bit at the door.

“You’re making a mistake,” she said.

“I’m protecting my agent. You should do the same for your own. Lichtermann isn’t stupid. He’s going to wonder where those SAWs came from same as we did.”

****

She’d had five drink offers and two wannabe pick-up artists and still hadn’t sighted her target. Thankfully, after she had dissuaded the last hopeful with a painful thumb twist it looked as if most of the bar was giving her a wide berth. Ziva adjusted the folds of her dress hoping the gun rig strapped to her thigh was concealed. They had lucked out when Abby had pulled the reimbursement receipts from the open case file. Apparently, two members of Team Seven had been enjoying non-alcoholic drinks on the government’s dime fairly regularly. Gibbs had guessed it was the contact point for the undercover agent. So far, she hadn’t seen anyone that she recognized from the Team Seven personnel files. Ziva was hoping that Standish’s contacts were the two that they hadn’t yet seen.

She sipped her ginger ale while scanning the room. Movement caught her eye as the door opened. He wasn’t very tall, but Tony’s description had been correct. His green eyes were piercing. They singled her out as something new almost immediately. Ziva smiled demurely. Despite the activity of happy hour, there remained a free seat at the bar next to her. Bennett, or Ezra Standish as they now knew him, sat down next to her.

“Good evening,” he said politely and motioned to the bartender.

“The usual?” the bartender asked and moved away when he received a nod.

“You must come here a lot,” Ziva said.

“Occasionally. Their wine list could use some improvements, but it’s passable.”

As if in response to his words, the bartender set down a glass of chardonnay.

“I don’t suppose I could offer you a drink, Ms…..” he trailed off.

“David, but please call me Ziva.”

“I’m Elliot Bennett, Ziva. That’s a lovely name. Israeli?” he asked motioning to the bartender again, but Ziva waved him off.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“The pronunciation of the last name and the hint of your accent was a clue. It was a lucky guess. You’re a long way from home.”

“So are you, from your accent.”

“Touché, madam. I don’t mean to sound cliché, but I’ve never seen you in here before.”

“I’ve never had reason to be here before.”

She could see why Tony was bothered by the man. Tony was by nature an expressive person, and though she’d never admit it out loud, he also had a good eye for people. Standish was frustrating because his face gave absolutely nothing away. Her answer had been provocative, but she had no way to tell if it had hit its mark.

Standish offered his glass and toasted, “To good reasons.”

Ziva raised her ginger ale and smirked. The movement of the door caught her eye again as two men entered the bar. Both were very tall. The black man’s eyes locked onto Standish’s back and quickly looked the other way. The older white man with him ignored the bar completely and headed for a back table near the television screens. Ziva recognized them as the other two members of Team Seven, Jackson and Sanchez. Standish must have seen something in her face because his eyes slid to the mirror behind the bar to check the room. When his attention was directed back on her it felt like a laser. He realized that she had recognized his teammates.

“What brings you to the fine state of Colorado?” Standish asked.

“I’m looking for someone.”

“My dear, aren’t we all.”

Ziva smiled a predatory smile and replied, “Yes, but my someone doesn’t want to be found.”

“Really? And why would someone not want such a lovely woman as yourself to find them?”

“I’m not sure. Perhaps they’re claustrophobic.”

Standish quirked an amused eyebrow at the comment. It was the most honest expression she had seen on his face so far. The tension that she had felt between them after his friends had entered slowly eased.

“I find that a lot of people I meet are plagued by that affliction,” Standish said taking a drink from his glass.

“I’m sure you help them face their fears.”

“I try,” Standish replied and ducked his head slightly with a real grin that was completely different from the fake ones she’d been seeing since his entrance. “Are you just visiting Denver?”

“Yes, I’m hoping to go back to Washington soon.”

“I’ve never been a fan of the capitol. Too much politics, not enough action.”

“And the traffic is murder.”

She knew she had tipped him off when he looked back at her out of the corner of his eye. He turned away from his drink and faced her fully.

“Still, Virginia is nice. I used to go to Prince William Forest Park a lot. It’s pretty out there.”

Ziva took a moment to think. She knew that she had heard of the park before. Then it hit her. Tony and she had passed the large park in Quantico on the way to the Marine base for cases. He was trying to see if she was FBI.

“I wouldn’t know I don’t get out there much. I do get a nice view of Anacostia Park across the river.”

“I do despise downtown.”

“The air is much clearer here,” she said.

“That depends on where you live I suppose.”

“Some places are worse than others. My friend David Miralles had a very bad reaction to the air here.”

She watched him with interest. He didn’t show much of a reaction other than a soft thoughtful look behind his eyes. After a moment he gave a slight frown before replying, “I’m sure a lot of people have allergies that can be problematic. I suppose careful research into remedies is the only answer. Also, with it being so windy lately, there might be more sufferers. Well, I’ve taken enough of your time, I really must be going. If you’ll excuse me, Ms. David. It has been an enlightening chat.”

Standish stood after laying some bills on the bar and hurried out of the door. Ziva frowned at his untouched wine. She looked up into the mirror and her eyes caught with Jackson’s dark ones at the back of the room. When the bartender arrived to take the money, Ziva paid her own tab and slipped out of the bar before either of them could approach her. She walked half a block before getting into a dark sedan waiting at the corner.

“Well?” Tony asked.

“He thought I was FBI,” she huffed.

Tony grinned and replied, “He used to work for them according to his sheet. Abby said that there were some doubts about him taking a payoff or something, but no charges were ever brought. That’s how he ended up out here.”

“I don’t think he’d ever take a bribe.”

“You so sure? Undercover agents sometimes get in over their heads,” he said sourly.

Ziva knew that he was thinking about Jeanne. Tony had developed a certain tightening of his face lately that gave away when he was thinking about her. She wanted to say something to comfort him, but Ziva was no good with such sentiments. As with the other occasions when she’d seen the look, it passed in silence. After a moment, she replied.

“He’s too smart for that. Anyway, I don’t think he knows anything about Miralles, but when I brought the name up he looked curious. He left in a hurry afterward. I think maybe he’s going to find out something. He could provide you with the information at the drop.”

“That’s _if_ he knows I’m a cop. McGee said that his team doesn’t have any contact with him.”

“He knows, Tony. I’m pretty sure he tipped off the rest of Team Seven about you even before we contacted them.”

“So now we wait,” Tony said with a sigh. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and gave a sly grin. “You really do look good in that dress.”

Ziva buckled her seatbelt as the car moved out onto the street.

“Of course I do,” she said.

****

Buck paced around the office in a fury, his cowboy boots making a racket against the floor. JD was typing away at his computer ignoring the show. For a moment Buck considered kicking the trash can across the room to wake everybody up, but he knew Chris would be down on him like an angry hornet’s nest if he did.

“I can’t believe them! What if someone had seen her? Ezra could be filled full of holes right now!” he yelled.

“Calm down, Bucklin,” Vin said coming out of the break room. “No one around here knows who she is. From what Josiah said, it probably jus’ looked like he was trying to pick her up.”

“I don’t know, Vin,” Nathan said, and Buck could tell he was fretting without even looking.

“Brother Vin is right. Having Officer David at the bar last night made perfect sense from their standpoint. No one would likely realize that she was an agent, and they got to ask Ezra about their case. I doubt it put Ezra in danger. An observer would be more likely to notice Nathan and myself since we’re there every time Ezra is,” Josiah argued.

“Well how’d they even know about the bar?” Buck asked. “Maybe they compromised Ezra that way!”

“I doubt it. Abby probably picked it up from our case notes or something. She’s had access to our system at least twice that we know of, and probably more than that,” JD added.

“Oh, _Abby_ is it. You two are all buddy-buddy now,” Buck said mockingly.

JD squirmed and said in all one breath, “Well, since she hacked us I thought it was only fair that I returned the favor, but she caught me, and well we started talking again, and she’s really nice, Buck.”

“Wonderful, JD’s got himself a new girlfriend that probably looks like a bulldog’s behind and weighs about three hundred pounds, meanwhile Ezra’s black and blue in a gutter somewhere wondering why we aren’t helping him.”

“Ezra’s fine,” Chris said coming out of his office. “This morning Denver PD rolled by that restaurant that Lichtermann likes to do business out of and they pegged ‘Bennett’ going inside. I talked to Judge Travis about NCIS and he’s going to get in touch with their director see if we can get any action. For now the meet between Lichtermann and their agent is still on. Vin, I want to go over your recon for our surveillance again. Everybody else get out of here. Take the morning to rest. We’ll have to set up early this afternoon at the hotel. Leave your phones on.”

Buck crossed his arms and fumed while everyone else made to leave. Vin had already moved into Chris’ office but his friend stayed. Buck met the eyes of the man he trusted more than anyone else in the world.

“It’ll be alright, Big Dog. Don’t lose it on me now.”

“I haven’t liked this case from the beginning, Chris. You know it’s too much a risk. They dug the last two cops that tried to get into Lichtermann’s organization out of the desert. I know Ez is good, but something about this thing has got my wind up.”

“I know. I wasn’t happy when Travis gave us the case either, but Ezra convinced me he could do it. This will be all on my head if something goes wrong.”

“It’s not your fault he’s a stubborn ol’ Reb.”

“Between him and Vin it’s a wonder every hair on my head isn’t grey.”

Buck smirked, “I wouldn’t worry about it. I think Mary wouldn’t mind a man who’s a little distinguished.”

Chris frowned, “Get out of here.”

Buck chuckled and grabbed his coat. Everyone else was gone. He knew that JD had plans with Casey since she didn’t have classes on Mondays. As he waited for the elevator a thought came into his head. Pulling out his cell phone he paged through the many contacts.

“Hello Darla darlin’ it’s Buck…. Why I’m as rascally as ever. I know I haven’t called in a while, but can you do be a big ol’ favor? Well, I’m pretty sure I can free up some time in return. Uh huh. I’ll bet. Listen there’s a group of agents in from Washington with NCIS. No, honey, it’s the Navy. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I need to know where they’re staying and since you have access to that hotel registry database, I figure it wouldn’t take you long to track them down. No, I’ll wait. It’s probably under Gibbs, two bees. Yeah, I think I know where that is. Thanks, Darla. You’re a life saver. I’ll call you later this week and we’ll have dinner. Bye.”

Buck slipped the phone back in his pocket and got on the waiting elevator. It didn’t take him long to reach the hotel where the agents were staying. The first door he tried opened to a short man with glasses.

“Can I help you?” he asked with a slight accent.

“I’m looking for Officer David.”

“And you are?”

Buck flipped open his badge, “Buck Wilmington, ATF.”

“Ah, well I believe that Jethro and the others went to get something to eat, but I do think Ziva is in her room. It’s the one across the hall.”

“Thanks….”

“Call me Ducky. Tell Orin I said hello,” the man added closing his door.

“Orin…I’d forgotten the judge had a first name,” Buck muttered while knocking on the door Ducky had indicated.

It opened forcefully to the beautiful agent in mid-sentence, “I told you Tony that I wasn’t interested in—“

“Hello to you too.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I just want to ask you a few questions, without cornering you in a bar, although if you’re interested in a drink I can oblige you.”

“I don’t think so,” Agent David said starting to close the door.

Buck jammed his foot into the crack before it could shut. Ziva gave him a look and pushed harder. Buck winced, but didn’t move.

“Listen, lady. After that stunt last night, you’re not exactly on my Christmas card list either, but I want to talk to you.”

“Why? You know why I was there, and I did warn Larabee about Gibbs.”

“We haven’t talked to Ezra directly in five months. I just want to know how he is,” Buck gritted out as she leaned heavily on the door.

The pushing ceased and the door was pulled back. Ziva looked at him sharply gauging his intent. Buck didn’t even try to look honest, because women always seemed to look right through that. He did let her see his worry, though, and that must have done it because she stepped aside for him to enter.

“Thanks,” he said shaking his foot a bit before moving over to sit in the chair by the window.

“He’s very guarded, your Standish.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if he had any friends before he met us.”

“You two are close?” she asked, sitting on the bed.

“Not exactly. Ezra doesn’t really let people close. I guess of any of us he’s tight with Vin and I think he kind of admires Josiah. I did try to talk him out of doing this case, but he can be awful stubborn.”

Buck watched her reaction to this and wondered if the description didn’t hit home. Something made him think that Ezra wasn’t the only guarded and stubborn one. While she was quiet and considered his words, Buck took the chance to really look at her. She was stunning. The dark hair and eyes were an immediate draw. Her skin was sun kissed and flawless. And he didn’t even want to get started on her lips. She had an edge about her, an air of toughness. Buck did so love a challenge. After all, it was what kept him coming back again-and-again to Inez despite her rebuffing. Though now that he was really looking at Ziva, there was something about her that kept him from wanting to try. There was a deep sadness there. It reminded him a bit of the female bounty hunter, Kate Stokes, that they’d run into on a case a while back. The woman had a lot to deal with tracking down her ex-husband Del Spivak all while trying to protect her sister who got mixed up in Spivak’s robbery ring. She had lived hard and it showed. Ziva, while not as dark, had obviously seen a lot in her time as well. There was something about a woman in trouble that Buck just couldn’t resist, whether they wanted his help or not.

“He never broke character, always speaking in code. He would make a good operative,” she said finally.

“Ezra does all right where he is. Where we can keep an eye on him.”

“The six of you ground him, keep him safe?” she asked.

“We try. Sometimes he doesn’t make it easy on us.”

“Life is nothing without a challenge.”

Buck chuckled and replied, “You can say that again. I’m worried that now that you’ve let him know what’s going on he’s going to try his damnedest to find your killer. He could be getting himself into more trouble than he’s already in, and considering our team that’s a lot of trouble.”

“Stopping these guns is more important than one murdered man?”

“No. But keeping Ezra from joining him? Yeah.”

“You’re very loyal.”

Buck tilted his head and said, “I bet Ez liked you.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You two seem a lot alike. Plus, he appreciates someone sharp that he can test himself against. You play cards?”

“Not really.”

“Shame.”

There was a knock at the door and before Ziva could say anything, the door opened. A guy that Buck hadn’t seen before entered holding a large brown paper bag that obstructed him from view.

“I know you said not to get you anything, but Gibbs was giving me the eye and McGeek was whining and I ended up getting you an Italian sub—“he paused, setting down the bag when he saw Buck.

“Oh.”

“Tony, you’re supposed to wait after you knock, and how did you get my room key?” Ziva snapped.

Buck realized that he was looking at Tony Grant and did a quick assessment. He wasn’t horrible looking, but nowhere in Buck’s league. He could see the appeal to a certain type of woman. The quick false smile that slid over the man’s weasely face, made Buck give a false one in return. Buck knew one thing for sure; he was going to hate this Tony guy.

“I didn’t realize you had company, Ziva.”

“I could have been undressing,” she snapped.

“More’s the pity,” Buck said, and got two pairs of angry eyes flipped towards him.

“What’s he doing here?” a sharp voice said from the doorway. Buck glanced over to see Gibbs holding a drink tray with the man from earlier and Agent McGee behind them.

“He wanted information about their agent since they haven’t been making direct contact with him,” Ziva replied.

“Whose fault is that?” Gibbs said stepping into the room.

Ziva threw her hands up in disgust and said, “Oh please, everyone come right in.”

Before she knew it, the others had appropriated her room for their group lunch. Ziva took one look at the sub that Tony had brought for her and immediately handed it to Buck.

“Thanks. Have you scoped out the meeting point yet?” Buck asked.

Gibbs paused in the middle of a bite and looked over at him. He guessed that the look was supposed to be intimidating, but after the Navy and having Chris for a best friend it washed right over him.

“We’re going this afternoon,” Agent McGee said quickly and received a quelling look from both Gibbs and Tony.

“We’re setting up at the hotel across the street tonight. This might go a lot smoother if we were all on the same page.”

“Your boss think so?” Gibbs asked.

“Chris can be a might protective. Hell, we all can. I don’t suppose you’d be any different,” Buck said and slipped a look at Tony who was busy eating a calzone.

Gibbs gave a small smirk, and Buck knew he’d made his point. They all tucked into their food and the one that had introduced himself as Ducky started in on some story that Buck lost track of about five minutes in. When Gibbs had finished eating, he got to his feet and headed for the door. The others had gotten pulled into Ducky’s conversation and didn’t pay him much mind. Buck saw him tilt his head out into the hallway in invitation, so he got up to follow. He was pretty sure Ziva was watching him leave. At least he knew she had a nice view.

Buck followed Gibbs across the hall through the first door he had knocked on. Once they were inside Gibbs crossed his arms and waited. Buck leaned back against the door.

“You planning on a bust? Because it won’t work. Lichtermann doesn’t show up for the buys. That’s why he’s been so hard to pin down. You’d just end up nabbing some of his flunkies and probably Ezra.” Buck explained.

“We were, but I got a call from my director a few minutes ago. We have to find some way for Tony to get out of the deal, because your ATF superiors aren’t going to let us go through with the bust, and we sure as hell aren’t letting those scumbags get those guns.”

“You could just have him not show up.”

“And miss a chance for your guy to slip Tony the information we need?”

“That’s if he knows anything. If there is something, he’ll find a way to get it to us.”

Gibbs snorted in disgust, “When? In a week, a month, a year?”

“We’re close.”

“Not close enough for me.”

“We’re not saying that we don’t want to help you. We just can’t do it overnight.”

“We both know the guns are going to take precedent. You’re the ATF it’s what you do.”

“You’ll have a better shot of getting your guy if we work this together. Any more stunts like last night and Ezra pays the price and you lose your chance to get what you want.”

“And Larabee?”

“I’ll handle Chris. You just come up with some way to not hand over those guns. We’re setting up this afternoon at the Warwick Hotel across the street from the meet. We have good line of sight from the third floor.”

Gibbs didn’t look happy, but he didn’t say anything more. Buck figured that was all the answer he’d get. With a nod he opened the door and left. The door to Ziva’s room was still cracked and as he turned down the hall. He heard it open more and yelled back over his shoulder.

“I’ll see you tonight gorgeous.”

“I hope not,” Tony replied.

Buck tried not to trip over his own feet in surprise. He shot a dirty look over his shoulder at the grinning agent before slamming open the stairwell door. Nope, he definitely didn’t like Tony what’s-his-name.

****

It was a record. They had made it all of fifteen minutes into the surveillance before Buck and JD had gotten into an argument. Josiah looked over at Nathan, who was propped up against the headboard of the hotel bed, and got an eye roll in response.

“It’s a good thing Ezra isn’t here, I would have lost money on them lasting this long,” Josiah mumbled.

Chris was leaning up against the window trying to stare the building across the street into submission. He gave a snort before turning to the arguing roommates.

“If you two are going to make such a racket go do it in the other room. Some of us are trying to work in here.”

“Aw, hell, Chris it ain’t my fault. JD’s gone and set up a connection with that Abby chick from NCIS.”

“You were the one that wanted them involved,” Chris practically growled.

“I believe he was more interested in Officer David being involved,” Josiah replied.

Before Buck could defend himself, there was a knock on the door. JD got up to answer it. As if mentioning their names had summoned them, Gibbs and his teammates were standing in the hall. Josiah turned to look at them earnestly. Officer David was still as stunning as she had been at the bar. Vin had briefed Nathan and himself on the others after their visit to the office. Gibbs looked just like his ID photo on file. Apparently ‘once a Marine, always a Marine’ was far too true in his case. His hair was short and his clothes neat. His shoes were shined to perfection. He held a cup of coffee in his hand and met Josiah’s eyes with determination.

The room was overly crowded with all of them. Josiah rose from his chair behind the cameras and microphones. He held his hand out to Gibbs. The man looked at it a moment before taking it with a firm shake.

“We haven’t had a chance to be introduced. I’m Josiah Sanchez, that there is Nathan Jackson.”

Nathan nodded from his seat on the bed, but didn’t get up. There wasn’t much room for him to bother. Agent McGee stepped forward and shook hands introducing himself and Officer David.

“Ma’am,” Josiah said giving her a nod, “we didn’t get a chance to speak the other night. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise,” she said sounding somewhat surprised. With her first impression being an angry Chris and a lascivious Buck, it was no wonder.

“We’ve got this room and the one adjoining. I’ve got the computers set up in the other room with a connection to Abby for you,” JD said with his usual level of excitement.

Agent McGee started asking him technical questions that had the rest of them staring, but neither seemed to notice as they moved through the open adjoining door into the other hotel room. Buck motioned Officer David to a chair in the corner. Nathan slid across the bed and started up a conversation on Krav Maga, something he had recently found a passion for. Gibbs and Chris had yet to relax. They still had an hour before the meeting, and Josiah envisioned it feeling like days if they continued.

“Agent Gibbs, perhaps you’d like to take a look at our set up,” he said waiving to the chair he’d been sitting in. Gibbs silently took a seat to check out the camera angles.

Josiah nodded his head towards the other room and Chris followed him. McGee and JD were hovering over the laptops still deep in conversation. Occasionally, a chipper voice would break in across the computer speakers to add a comment.

“Chris, I know cooperation is not your first impulse, but we have to embrace this.”

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before I give Gibbs a hug.”

“You know full well I meant that metaphorically. They have as much riding on this now as we do. I know you’re worried about Ezra, we all are, but they’re just as worried for their Agent DiNozzo. Try not to forget that.”

“What do you think about him, Josiah?”

“Having just barely met the man?”

Chris frowned and said, “You read his file too, which is as much, if not more, than most of the guys you profile for us.”

“He’s a good man and a better agent. His case record is exceptional. You don’t have to worry about his ability, and I doubt you’ll have to worry about the ability of his people either. He doesn’t seem like the type to suffer fools. He likes to make his own rules because results are more important to him than procedure. And I think the reason he rubs you the wrong way, brother, is that you two are more alike than either of you would admit.”

JD and McGee were still chatting away completely unaware of the conversation occurring behind them. Josiah watched Chris stare a hole through the back of the young NCIS agent’s head. Apparently, he was used to the same treatment from his own boss because he never once looked away from JD or the laptops they were typing away on.

“All right,” was the only reply before he headed back into the other room to turn his stare on Gibbs.

Josiah shook his head and stood in the doorway to observe both rooms. In the corner, Officer David and Nathan seemed to have hit it off. Enough so that Buck stepped away from them with an exasperated sigh. Josiah smiled at him and moved out of the way to let him pass. Gibbs and Chris were both staring out of the window despite the lack of anything to see. Buck paused looking at the pair over Josiah’s shoulder.

“I think they’re having a stoic contest and didn’t tell us,” Josiah whispered.

Buck chuckled and replied, “Ezra’s going to be mad he missed some good action.”

“I doubt it, not when he couldn’t figure out a clear winner to bet on.”

“That would be a tough call,” Buck agreed.

“Hey Buck, I want you to meet someone,” JD said, pulling their attention away from the other room.

Josiah joined him as they made their way over to the pair. JD’s mocking tone of voice was a good indicator that something amusing, most likely at Buck’s expense, was going to happen. One of the laptops was displaying a video feed of what looked like a lab. JD pulled Buck down so that he was level with the camera at the top of the computer’s monitor.

“This is Abby,” JD said. “Abby, this is my friend Buck.”

An attractive girl with pale skin and dark hair pulled up into pigtails on either side of her head came into view. Her lipstick and eye makeup was dark as well as her clothes. She wore a spiked leather dog collar around her neck that allowed just the peek of what might have been a tattoo starting around the back of her neck. The overall picture was somewhat surprising, but not as much as the smile and cheerful wave she gave to the camera. Josiah blinked in surprise. Buck looked gobsmacked.

“Hi! JD’s told me all about you,” Abby said through the connection.

“Yeah, I didn’t tell her that you said she probably looked like a bulldog’s—“ JD started to say but was cut off abruptly by Buck’s large hand clamping over his mouth.

“Don’t you mind him, sweetheart, he does go on so,” Buck said smiling for the camera.

“He warned me about you.”

“Well, I must admit a pretty little thing like you has got to be careful. You’ll never know when you’ll trip over those men always falling at your feet.”

Abby laughed, whether it was at Buck’s comments or the comical look that JD and McGee shared he wasn’t sure. Josiah shook his head and left them to their flirting and sniping. Back in the other room, it looked as though Chris and Gibbs hadn’t moved. Josiah joined them.

“Where’s your fifth?” Gibbs asked suddenly.

“Vin has a position on the adjacent rooftop. It has a better trajectory,” Chris said.

Gibbs didn’t look happy to hear the news and asked, “You have your own shooter?”

“You’d be surprised how often we seem to need one,” Josiah replied quickly. He could tell that Chris was about to say something sharp to the man. Their leader was normally touchy when it came to Vin, and having Gibbs question him was making it worse.

“The Director hinted that you’re known for your tendency towards destruction.”

Josiah nodded and explained, “To be fair we rarely ever start it.”

“That’s funny,” Officer David said joining them, “Gibbs is usually always the one that starts it for us.”

Gibbs turned his head slightly in acknowledgement, but there was a small smirk at the corner of his mouth that made Josiah think the statement was true. Chris stood up straighter.

“Your man just pulled in,” he said.

The others gathered around the window as Chris called to JD in the other room. Thankfully, Buck directed the other two to the windows in that room. It was already crowded enough where they were. Nathan stayed away from the windows and pulled his medical kit onto the bed. He always methodically checked it before an operation. Officer David raised an eyebrow at this and he merely shrugged in return.

Agent DiNozzo looked around after getting out of the van he was driving. He had backed it up to the cargo door on the back side of the building they were observing. Thankfully, the door was large enough that they had a pretty good view of the area from their higher vantage point. DiNozzo leaned against the van and waited. If he looked over toward the hotel, he gave no sign of it underneath his sunglasses. It was only a few minutes later that a silver Mercedes sedan pulled up. Just as they had predicted, two large men and Ezra were the only ones in the car. Josiah reached over and flipped the directional microphone to project from the small speakers in the room instead of going directly into the headset attached to the camera.

“Mr. Grant, I do appreciate someone who is punctual. Were you able to obtain the quantities that we asked for?” Ezra said in a lazy drawl.

“No. I didn’t have enough time. My military contact had some trouble.”

Josiah watched through the binoculars he had picked up off of the windowsill. He could clearly see Ezra’s frown. One of the heavies flanked Tony and stepped forward to pat him down. DiNozzo opened his arms away from his body and allowed the simple search. Once the pat down was done the man pulled out a small square device that let out a high electrical screech. Everyone in the room flinched as the powerful mic squealed the feedback. Thankfully, the noise died down as the man waived the device around DiNozzo’s body.

“Checking for a wire? I don’t know if I should be insulted or not,” Tony said.

“It’s just a precaution that my boss insists on. Seeing how he occasionally does the same for members of his own family, you shouldn’t feel affronted. If you don’t have the added supplies I suppose we’ll just take what you showed us before.”

“Well, that’s the thing…”

“What thing?”

“I was expecting to get the additional supplies you were asking for and I already moved the supply you saw.”

“So you showed up here with nothing?” one of the goons growled.

“No, it was just a temporary setback. I’ll have the full supply by next week.”

“Mr. Lichtermann is not a patient man when it comes to his business. We had an agreement, Mr. Grant.”

“I understand. Believe me—I’m really embarrassed by all of this. It’s not doing my reputation any good. I’ve never had problems with this contact before. The matter is being dealt with.”

“Your assurances aren’t providing my employer with weapons,” Ezra replied.

Josiah frowned. It wasn’t going well. Ezra was playing the part, but the part wouldn’t do Agent DiNozzo any good if it got him shot. Gibbs was looking grimmer with each passing moment.

“Gentleman, if you would give us a moment. I have to impart a few practicalities to Mr. Grant,” Ezra said pulling Josiah’s attention back to the meeting below.

Ezra placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder and led him away from the goons. With Tony’s back to the two men they could only see the anger on Ezra’s face. They couldn’t hear the conversation.

“Your companion is quite charming,” Ezra said in a low voice.

“She said the same of you. What do you have for me?” Tony asked.

Ezra turned away as if disgusted with whatever answer he was receiving. He replied, “Benito Tuturo is one of Lichtermann’s runners.”

“He our guy?”

“I believe that’s your job to discover. Now shove me.”

“Are you trying to get me shot?”

“Do it.”

Tony reached out and shoved Ezra back. Ezra stumbled but kept his feet. He raised his hand to waive off the goons. Tony turned and made for his van, but one of the goons blocked his path.

“Let him go,” Ezra said with a shake of his head, but the goon didn’t move.

“I don’t think so, Mr. Bennett.”

Josiah leaned closer to the window. A fifth man stepped out of the open bay door. Three more goons jumped down from the open doorway to flank the two agents. Ezra turned to the new men and the look on his face told the story well enough. Josiah started moving away from the window, but Buck was faster, he had already moved through the room and had the door open. They were running down the hall with Gibbs and Ziva behind them. Josiah could hear Chris yelling over his mic to Vin. By the time they had cleared three flights of steps and got out of the building, they could only hear the echo of Vin’s gun. DiNozzo’s van was missing along with the three men and Ezra. The two that had come with him were on the ground bleeding. Unfortunately, so was DiNozzo.

“Tony! What happened?” Gibbs asked letting Buck and Ziva cover the downed men.

“Sorry boss, we must have screwed up. They’ve got Bennett—Standish whatever. I tried to stop them, but…”

Josiah watched Nathan rush forward to take over applying pressure to Tony’s wound. It was a chest shot far too near the heart for anyone’s comfort. It was obvious the bullet had hit a lung because Tony was having trouble breathing and talking. Nathan silenced him and started barking orders. Chris was already on the radio requesting an ambulance. Once that was done, he started yelling for an APB on the van. JD and McGee were the last to join them.

“It’s a rental. They’ll have it lojacked I’ve already forwarded the information back to the federal building,” McGee said, slightly out of breath.

“Vin, talk to me,” Chris barked into his mic.

“No need to yell,” a voice said in response.

Josiah looked up from where he was helping Nathan to see Vin loping up to join the rest of the team. The shooter looked about as angry as Chris.

“It’s all my fault, cowboy. They used the van as cover. I winged one of them, but they kept pulling Ezra in front and moving around. I tried to shoot out the tires, but they were around the corner before I could get a good angle.”

“If…wasn’t for you…I’d be…lot worse off,” Tony gasped.

Nathan snapped at him, “What’d I tell you about trying to talk?”

Vin nodded at the downed agent, but Josiah knew that the young man would carry this mark on his soul if anything should happen to Ezra. In a group full of loners the two of them were even more separate. It was that distinction that pulled such opposites together. While Vin and Chris had a bond that none of them could describe, much less deny, it was Vin and Ezra’s relationship that filled Josiah with wonder. He was pretty sure that if it wasn’t for Vin’s influence they would have lost Ezra to his wondering ways several times over.

“We’ll get him, brother,” Josiah encouraged softly, “Nothing on this earth will stop us either.”

****

Five hours of surgery had left them all frayed. Tony had finally been moved to recovery and was still coming out of the anesthesia. Several members of Team Seven were stalking the halls of St. Anthony’s like caged lions, but they were nothing compared to the cold statue that was Gibbs. He stared at the doors to the OR barely moving except to take the coffee cups that each of them took turns bringing him. Ducky sat next to his old friend with a sigh. Ever since they had lost dear Caitlin, Gibbs had become rather too focused when any of them got hurt, Tony especially. Though Gibbs would never admit it, Tony was his finest pupil. Ducky believed that there were some familial feelings there on both sides. He often wished that both men would admit such a thing, but Tony would brush it off and Gibbs…well, that was another matter entirely.

“One of the doctors stated that things are going well. Tony really was lucky, Jethro. The only thing they’re worried about is his healing process. As you know his lungs were scarred from the plague. This may make his recovery difficult and longer than expected, but he will recover.”

“I know, Duck, but things happen in operation rooms.”

“I have every confidence in the hospital staff. Frankly, I’m rather surprised you’re still here. I figured you’d be off with Agent Larabee ripping the city apart.”

“Don’t worry, I plan too once I know Tony’s all right.”

“You mean once you see him for yourself. I think we all need to give a word of thanks to Mr. Jackson. His medic skills saved the day.”

“You can say that again, Ducky,” Timothy said joining them with yet another cup of coffee for Gibbs.

“What’s the word?” Jethro asked.

“I talked with Agent Sanchez down in the lobby. I updated him on Tony and he said that Agents Larabee and Wilmington had tracked down the van. It looks like they switched cars at some point because it was found on the side of the highway. There were some tread marks. I made sure that JD had the photos sent to Abby.”

“Good.”

“They’re also keeping an eye on most of Lichtermann’s usual spots, but it’s most likely he’ll take Agent Standish someplace else if he suspects that he’s a cop.”

“So basically, they have nothing.”

“We’re working on it, Boss. Ziva is out with them now. I’m going to head back to the federal building to coordinate with JD. Sanchez and Jackson are staying here. They’re concerned that Lichtermann may try for Tony once they find out he’s okay.”

“No, I want Ziva down here with Tony. I want one of ours with him at all times. I’ll call her when I’m ready to leave and we’ll trade off,” Gibbs snapped.

“You got it, Boss.”

Timothy wasn’t gone very long before the doctor came out to speak with them. Tony was starting to come around. They were allowed to go in and see him. Ducky was relieved not only for Tony, but for Gibbs as well. They both stepped into the room. There was the usual shock of all the machines and tubes. Tony was pale, but his eyes blinked open the moment Jethro went past the door.

“Boss—“ he tried to say, but no voice came out.

“Save it, DiNozzo. Rest. Ducky’s going to stay here with you, and Ziva will be along in a bit. I’m going to get these guys.”

Ducky stepped forward to give some ice chips that were in a cup next to the bed. After a few, Tony started rasping.

“He was trying to protect me. You’ve got to get to him before—“

“I told you to rest. That’s an order. You let me worry about Standish. Besides, I don’t think Larabee is going to take this lying down. His record says he’s a former SEAL. The last thing he’s going to do is leave a man behind.”

“Tuturo…Bennett said…”

“We know, Tony. Now you heard Gibbs, rest. They said you’re doing well. I’ll be right outside,” Ducky said patting the young man’s hand.

Gibbs was already out the door before the poor thing could close his eyes. With a sigh, Ducky headed back into the hall to wait. He was surprised to see Agent Tanner leaning against the wall. The man gave him a nod. Though they hadn’t been formally introduced, Jethro had made sure that everyone had read the files on Team Seven. He was afraid that they’d try to get information the same way that they had used Ziva to get to Agent Standish.

“Hello I’m Doctor Donald Mallard, but you can call me Ducky. You’re one of Orin’s boys, yes?”

“Vin Tanner, Sir.”

“Mr. Tanner. Timothy tells me that you saved our Anthony. Thank you.”

“If I had been better, he wouldn’t have gotten hurt to begin with.”

“Now, now. ‘We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility of our future.’ You can’t argue with George Bernard Shaw. Tony is alive thanks you and your friend Mr. Jackson. Concentrate on that and what you’re going to do now. I assume you’re here acting as a guard?”

Tanner bowed his head. He was obviously a quiet sort of person. He had good manners, which is something that Ducky saw rarely any more. It was heartening. Ducky found himself warming to the young man.

“I should be out helping the others find Ezra, but… I wanted to make sure he’s okay.”

“Well, why don’t I get us some chairs? Ziva should be along soon to take over guarding him, and then you can go and save your friend,” Ducky said patting the man’s arm.

Ducky stepped over to the nurses’ station and explained the situation. He was quickly offered two chairs which were placed against the glass wall looking into Tony’s room. Tanner took the one closest to the door and Ducky sat beside him.

“You know, this isn’t the first time I’ve done watch duty. Once in nineteen seventy eight I had to sit watch over a tribal chief that had been attacked by a lion. The local witchdoctor was positive that the lion would come to finish the job. You see, it was part of their folklore that lions possessed a singular vision…” Ducky began and continued telling the story of the lion hunt and the near death of the chief. He knew that he had the tendency to ramble on a bit, and mostly people tended to tune him out. Ducky was never offended by this. He always believed that people would retain something, the brain being the magnificent organ that it was. So his stories were held somewhere, and if some small bit of information that he could impart could be useful to someone in the future, so much the better. Mr. Tanner turned out to be a good listener. While his eyes often strayed away to look for threats in the hall, they always returned to Ducky. His forlorn face grew into a smile. He seemed interested, and he even asked some rather pointed questions. Of course the questions had Ducky veering off into other stories. The time passed all too quickly, and before he knew it, Ziva was standing over them listening to the end of a story about a Japanese minister and his mathematical goat.

“Ducky. Agent Tanner,” she said in greeting.

“Ma’am,” Tanner returned with a nod and got to his feet. “It was nice meeting you Doctor.”

“The same to you, young man. It has been a distinct pleasure. Now you go out there and you find those men. No one will get past Ziva and myself.”

Tanner gave him another nod and headed back down the hallway. Ziva watched him go before taking his chair. She looked over her shoulder into the room beyond. Tony was still asleep. There were lines of worry around the corners of her mouth, but they quickly smoothed.

“How is he?” she asked.

“Disobeying Gibbs’ orders to rest while he’s in the room. He’ll be fine, Ziva. How is the investigation coming?”

“Tanner did wing one of the men. There were traces of blood in the van. Larabee didn’t want to wait to send it to Abby, so they’re doing the work up in the lab here. Hopefully, we’ll get a hit. She’s already found the tires that go with the treads we found so we now have an idea of the vehicle. JD is checking all the hospitals to see if the wounded man turns up. Also, McGee has been running the information on Tuturo. It looks like he went to high school with Miralles. We’re still checking on that.”

“So Mr. Standish did find our man.”

“Possibly. I hope he’s okay,” Ziva said looking around her. “I’ve spent too much time in hospitals lately.”

Ducky remembered how close she had gotten to Lt. Sanders before his death of radiation poisoning. He patted her hand and looked over into Tony’s room.

“My dear, you have no idea.”

****

Chris paced around the office. He was a man of action. He always had been. Waiting for evidence and procedure always drove him up the wall. He wanted to be out there finding Ezra, but with no idea where to look it would be a waste of energy. JD and McGee were typing away on the computers like their lives depended on it, instead of Ezra’s. Buck was on the phone and had been since they got back from picking up the deserted van. He wanted to bark for a status update, but he had just got one less than five minutes ago. They’d let him know if they found anything. Vin stepped through the door. Chris knew he had headed down to the hospital. One look and he gave Chris a frown and headed for the office. Chris followed him inside and shut the door.

“You need to settle down, cowboy.”

“I can’t help it. You know I didn’t want this case, and Buck all but tried to quit on me to keep us from doing it. Dammit, I should have listened to him. I shouldn’t have let Ezra convince me otherwise.”

“A man said, ‘We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility of our future.’ Ducky told me that at the hospital when I was beating myself up over not stopping them from taking Ezra or hurting DiNozzo. I been thinkin’ on it mighty hard and it seems to make sense. We can’t go back and change our should haves, but we can do something about it now.”

Chris raised an eyebrow at his friend. Vin always seemed to have a better grasp of things than he let on. With a nod Chris got to his feet. As they stepped out into the bullpen Vin continued.

“That George Shaw fella seems to know his stuff.”

“He was a poet, like you.”

“Huh. I may have to get one of his books.”

“All right people,” Chris bellowed getting everyone’s attention. He could see Gibbs leaning on the doorway across the room. “We know they’ve got one wounded. It’s not likely they’ll go to a hospital because they’ll report a gunshot wound. I want to know anyone with the slightest medical connection that would have anything to do with Lichtermann. Buck start shaking up some of your informants. JD get Josiah back here ASAP.”

Chris looked directly at Gibbs and asked, “You got your man covered?”

“Ziva is with him.”

“Right, JD tell Nathan to stay with Officer David.”

McGee shot a look at Gibbs and waited for a nod before asking, “What do you need me to do?”

“You and Abby go back through the records we have. He won’t take Ezra to one of his places, so check any associates and their property. Try to find a link between them and the type of vehicle that uses the tires she found.”

“On it.”

“Vin you’re with me. Gibbs?” Chris asked without looking back as he headed out the door. The older man was right behind them as they made for the elevator.

“You got a plan?” the NCIS agent asked.

“We’re going to drop in on Mrs. Tuturo and ask her about her son. This didn’t start until Ezra started digging into your murder case. Maybe if we work your end we’ll find out what we need to know.”

Gibbs gave a small smirk as the elevator dropped toward the garage. Chris could tell that Vin was trying very hard not to comment on the fact that Gibbs was getting his way. He restrained himself from cursing all Jarheads out loud.

The Tuturo house was like many in the suburbs of Denver. It was a small one story house with a dry yard and children’s bikes in the driveway. The community was distinctly Hispanic. The three of them got out of the Dodge and were greeted at the screen door before they could even get close enough to knock.

“Yes?” a woman in her early fifties asked hesitantly through the mesh.

“Hello, Ma’am. I’m Agent Gibbs with the NCIS,” he said holding up his badge.

Chris let him take the lead because he knew that in a mood he could be intimidating. Vin stood next to him silently.

“What is NCIS? We’re legal. I have papers.”

“I’m not with the NIS. NCIS is Navy Criminal Investigative Service. I’m looking into a murder of a Marine Corporal. I was hoping that I could speak to your son, Benito. He went to school with the deceased. I was hoping he might know some of the Corporal’s friends.”

“Benito isn’t here.”

“Oh, well, could you please give him my card?” Gibbs asked holding it up. The woman opened the screen door just a crack. She took the card and the door slammed back against the frame. The three of them said goodbye and started walking back to the truck.

“He’s in there,” Chris growled.

“Oh yeah,” Gibbs agreed.

They drove off around the corner dropping Vin off before circling the block. Chris cut the truck off and the two of them waited. They didn’t have to wait long before a young man exited the house yelling back to the woman inside. He headed for a car parked along the street. Chris started up the Dodge and came around the corner slowly. Tuturo was half-way to the car before he looked back over the shoulder and saw the truck. He started running. Chris stepped on the gas blazing down the block. Tuturo must have realized he wouldn’t make it to the car because he veered off into one of the neighboring yards. Chris slowed down enough for Gibbs to hop out. The Agent had the door open even as the truck was still moving, so he didn’t bother slowing too much. The older man was out of the truck and in pursuit in a blink. Chris gunned the engine again causing the passenger door to slam shut. He headed around the block only to see Vin sitting on the suspect in the adjacent driveway. Gibbs was crouched down next to the young man. When he parked and got out of the truck he heard some expressive swearing. Gibbs was giving the boy a steely eyed look.

“I didn’t do nothing. Get this guy off of me.”

“Then why you runnin’, Benito?” Vin asked finishing his pat down and pulling the boy’s arms back to cuff them.

“I thought you was gang bangers in that big black truck.”

“Do I look like a gang banger to you, son?” Gibbs asked.

“Depends on your gang,” Chris said with a smirk. He ignored the wry look he received and continued. “Let’s get him back to the office.”

“You arresting me?” Tuturo asked as he was pulled to his feet. Chris took his turn staring the boy down.

“Do I need to?” he asked.

“I didn’t—“

“Do nothing. Yeah, so we heard.”

Gibbs sat in the back with the boy. They drove in silence back to the federal building. Benito tried to put up a good front, but it was obvious he was scared. They sat him in one of the interrogation rooms downstairs and let him wait. Chris headed back up to find out if the others had gotten any news.

“Anything?” he asked as he walked through the bullpen to his office.

Buck walked past pulling on his coat and replied, “I think I may have something with a medical connection. Josiah and I were just going out now.”

“Call JD if you get anything. JD?”

“We’re still running associates. Abby has an electric copy of the blood work and she’s running it through NCIS’ databases too.”

McGee looked up from the phone he was talking on and said, “I’m working on tracking down cell phone records. Lichtermann had Ezra doing negotiations. If I can find a phone we might get a location. It’s a long shot, but I thought we should at least try it.”

“Good. Cross reference anything you get with the associate and vehicle information. That may help you weed things out,” Chris said stepping into his office for his copies of the NCIS murder investigation file. “I’ll be down in interrogation with my phone off. If Buck calls or you guys come up with something, come and get me.”

When he got back downstairs, he found Vin and Gibbs staring through the two way mirror at a fidgeting Tuturo. They were both holding cups of coffee that looked a little like mud.

“When operations finds out you were using their coffee pot they’re going to be pissed,” he said.

Vin shrugged. Gibbs cocked an eyebrow at him and said, “They shouldn’t mind. He makes good coffee.”

Chris blinked at this remark as Vin chuckled. Everyone knew that Tanner’s coffee was not fit for human consumption. Then again, what did he expect?

“I should have known. The Marines and Rangers train their men to eat grubs and worms and god knows what all. Killed every one of your taste buds.”

“Don’t they make SEALs eat raw fish?” Vin asked.

“Sushi is an accepted food. Grubs, not so much.”

“Where I come from either way they call it bait. You want to do this or do you want me to?” Gibbs asked.

Chris was surprised that he bothered to ask. After looking at Gibbs a moment he gave a smile with absolutely no humor. It was the one that generally made his men cringe.

“Age before beauty.”

“Wisdom before wiseass,” Gibbs countered and headed off to the door. Chris followed silently.

Tuturo started talking the moment they walked in, professing his innocence, claiming police brutality, and asking to be let go. Gibbs took the chair across the table and opened the file without saying anything. He stared at the boy and watched him. Chris leaned back against the wall just within reach of the young man’s peripheral vision. They watched the boy slowly wind down until the room was completely silent.

“You going to tell me why I’m here?”

“David Miralles.”

“Who?”

“You went to school with him. He joined the Marine Corps. He was a Corporal and a fine Marine. He’s dead.”

“I don’t know no David.”

“No? Let me see if I can pick out a name you do recognize. Andreas Lichtermann.”

Tuturo’s eye twitched at the name and Chris snorted. This made the boy look quickly over at him. Ezra would eat this kid alive. His tells were way too sloppy. Chris stared back until the boy looked away, but the only other thing to look at was Gibbs’ eyes. The room was cool, but Benito was starting to sweat.

“We know you work for him,” Gibbs continued.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Chris took that opportunity to move away from the wall. He walked behind Tuturo and bent down to speak directly into his ear.

“He’s got one of my men, Benny. I’m not in the mood for games. All Gibbs here has to do is match up the physical evidence he has to you. We’ve already got a warrant in progress to get it from you. It’s a matter of time now. You’re going to a federal pen for a very long time with some very nasty people. How horrible it is depends on what you tell me right now.”

Benito shivered and looked to Gibbs for help, but he received no quarter there. He was trapped between the proverbial rock and a hard place. It took all of five seconds before he was spilling everything: the fight over him working for Lichtermann, David just back from Iraq having seen the damage that weapons could do, the threat to go to the police, and the last minute grab for a wrench to stop a good man from doing the right thing.

“Where would Lichtermann take my man, Benny?” Chris asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Where!”

“I don’t know! Some of the guys talked about some warehouses that he stores some of the weapons before taking them to where we pick them up for shipping them, but I don’t know where they are. Only his main guys knew. They’d bring the boxes and they’d be covered in this sparkly yellow dirt. I could never get it out of my clothes.”

“What like sand?” Gibbs asked.

“No it was dust like powder.”

“Do you still have those pants?”

Benito looked confused and replied, “Yeah, sure at Mama’s.”

Chris jerked his head toward the door. The two of them stepped out into the hall. Vin was waiting for them. Gibbs gave him an annoyed look, but Chris waved him off.

“He said it wasn’t sand. The only mining around here is mostly sand and gravel pits, except for west of the city. There are a few clay and shale yards along State Highway 93 north and south of Golden.”

“Shale would make sparkly yellow dust as they split it up.”

“Exactly. The meet point they set up for Tony was on the west side of town. Shorter distance for them to travel?”

“We need to match warehouses near those mines with the associates that they’re running,” Gibbs replied heading for the elevator.

As the three of them stepped into the office, JD bounded up to Chris. “I was just going to go downstairs. Buck called in. He and Josiah found a med school drop out that’s been doing some pharmacological work on the side for Lichtermann. They checked at his home but according to his neighbors he left in a hurry a couple of hours ago.”

“He probably got an emergency house call. Listen, JD, I want you to run that associates property list against any warehouses near shale yards on the west side of town.”

McGee perked up at this. He started typing quickly on the computer and then called out.

“I’ve got a warehouse attached to a landscaping business that is owned by one of Lichtermann’s lieutenants in Golden.”

“Landscaping?” JD asked.

“They specialize in rock work.”

“That’s it,” Gibbs said.

JD looked back and forth between Gibbs and McGee.

“But how do you know?” he asked.

“My gut.”

“JD, call Buck and Josiah and have them meet us there. Load up, people,” Chris said darkly. “We’re going to go get what’s ours.”

 

****

“Team Four is on their way as backup,” JD said as they exited the ATF SUV.

Gibbs followed Larabee to the back where he started handing out vests and equipment. The agent acknowledged his man with a nod. Gibbs reached in to pull out a vest for McGee. He wished that Ziva and Tony were here to help back him up, but the members of Team Seven would have to do. Despite their differences his gut told him that Larabee and his boys could handle themselves.

A nicely refurbished old model truck pulled up behind them. Wilmington and Sanchez exited already in vests. He watched Buck start checking JD’s vest and set up, but the younger agent waved him off. It reminded him of some of Tony and McGee’s interactions. Unconsciously, he looked over to make sure Tim’s rig was set up right since Tony wasn’t there to do it for him.

“Have Team Four pull perimeter when they get here, and get on the thermal I want to know how many we’ve got in there,” Chris barked. “Gibbs I want my guys taking the lead on this, no arguments.”

Gibbs stared at the man for a moment then gave a short nod. If it was Tony in there, he’d want everyone else behind him too. JD was already positioning a thermal imager at the building.

“Chris, looks like we’ve got four outside the building. Two are walking patrol. The other two are guarding the north entrance. Inside looks like seven or eight. Shit.”

The others paused in their preparations at the small curse from the boy’s lips. Apparently, it was something uncommon. Wilmington was immediately at the boy’s side with a hand on his shoulder. With that encouragement, JD continued.

“I’ve got one man in a seated position with four men around him. Looks like their taking turns smacking him around,” he said quietly.

Gibbs looked over at Larabee and from the stone look on the man’s face, he wasn’t sure if any of the men in that building would be coming out alive. He started to say something, but Buck spoke first.

“He’s still alive. And it’s got to be Ezra, because nobody else can piss off people like that.”

Gibbs watched the dark look on Larabee’s face slide into a tiny smirk. Wilmington had said just the right thing. They had apparently known each other for a very long time. Chris looked over to Vin and the shooter gave him a wink.

“All right, let’s do this. Vin, take out those perimeter guards. Two clicks when you’re done.”

Tanner was already out of sight by the time Larabee turned to the others. He looked at each of them in the eye before speaking again.

“Buck you and Josiah take the two on the door. I want this quick and quiet. When you’re done I want both of you to take lead on that entrance with JD covering your flank. Gibbs you and McGee are with me. We’re going to take the west entrance. Vin will be there waiting on us. Vin and I will take point. I want you two coming in hot behind us. No hesitation,” he said, the last directed to Tim. He waited for a nod before continuing. “Buck, three clicks when you’re ready. One click response to go in. Once the room is cleared, Josiah, your priority is Ezra. Nathan’s not here to do his usual magic so it’s up to you. JD you’ll help him while coordinating with Team Four, which should be here any minute. The rest of us will keep you three covered. Any questions?”

The others were obviously used to the game plan because there was silence on their part. Gibbs shook his head no for both McGee and himself. Chris told everyone to get into position and as they were moving away from the vehicles they heard two clicks on the radio.

“That was fast,” McGee said softly.

“Rangers are almost as good as Marines,” Gibbs said over his shoulder as they ran from cover-to-cover hiding their approach.

“Not as good as SEALs though,” Chris whispered back and Gibbs snorted at him.

Tanner was waiting at the west door even though Larabee had never specified that was where he was supposed to be. He was already positioned on the left side of the door ready to cover the right side of the room. Chris knelt by the right side of the door. Gibbs took position behind him and waved McGee over to Tanner. They waited silently for the other half of the team. After a few moments they got the three clicks they were waiting for. Larabee and Tanner shared a look that spoke novels full before Chris clicked his radio once and they were barreling through the door.

“ATF! Drop your weapons!” Larabee yelled but the room was already in chaos.

Tanner picked off two going for some boxes of machine guns off to their right somewhere. Gibbs and Larabee continued strafing left. He could hear gunfire toward the front of the building where Wilmington and the others were clearing their way back towards their position. They took cover behind some pallets of rock as the four men near their target started popping off shots. As Gibbs slid over to the edge of the pallet to provide cover fire for the other group, he could see that the chair had been knocked onto its side. There were hands tied behind the back facing them. He couldn’t tell if it was Standish or not, but he could hear Wilmington bellowing the man’s name. They had a better position to see who was in the chair, so Gibbs assumed that it was Standish. He quickly ducked back behind the rock as bullets slammed into it showering his shoulder with chips and dust.

He could hear the loud retort of the shotgun that Sanchez had been carrying. Gibbs quickly scanned the room for McGee and saw him returning fire behind some large metal drums with Tanner. Gibbs leaned out again to fire and saw one man standing over Standish holding a gun on him. Gibbs took aim, but before he could fire, Standish’s foot kicked out catching the man in the crotch. He hunched over and Gibbs fired hitting him square in the shoulder. The man spun and received two more shots, probably from Tanner and McGee. He went down hard and Standish inched his chair forward to use the man’s body as cover.

As quickly as it had begun, the room grew quiet. The gun fire echoed in the metal building. Gibbs leaned out again and saw the last few assailants laying down their guns and raising their hands. Wilmington’s team moved forward. Gibbs and Larabee came out from behind the rock to cover the remaining men. They secured the weapons and McGee and Tanner moved forward to start restraining them with wire ties.

Gibbs looked over his shoulder and got his first look at Standish. The others had cut him loose, and he was waving them away even as Sanchez helped him to his feet. The man turned to nod at Larabee, and Gibbs got a good look at his face. It was battered and bruised. One eye was starting to swell, and soon he wouldn’t be able to see out of it. His expensive looking white shirt was stained with blood, probably from the split lip he was sporting. All in all, he looked like about five miles of bad road, but despite this he was wearing a small smile.

“Your timing, as usual gentlemen, is impeccable,” he said harshly, holding his ribs.

Wilmington stepped away from covering the secured perps. He took one look at his beaten teammate before pulling the smaller man into a bear hug that had him protesting loudly. The others started laughing and each stepped forward to shake his hand or throw his arm around Standish’s shoulders. Larabee kept his position and didn’t join in on the reunion, but Gibbs caught the two exchanging a look that left the leader shaking his head with an actual grin. Gibbs could relate because he’d had the same reaction to Tony time and again. Team Four was called in to clean up, and since there had been several fatalities, all on the other side, their weapons were all confiscated pending investigation. Gibbs watched Team Four’s interactions with the group, and they seemed to treat it all as business as usual. He could see where the Director had gotten the impression that Team Seven was a destructive bunch.

“Come on, lets get you to the hospital, Nathan’s going to have a fit and that’s no lie,” Sanchez said leading their returned teammate towards the trucks.

“I have told you I’m fine. It’s nothing a little ice and some meat tenderizer won’t take care of, I assure you,” Standish protested.

Buck snorted and rolled his eyes at Larabee. He said, “And those ribs? Hell, I could practically feel them swimming around when I hugged you. We already got one agent with a punctured lung out of this business. Don’t need two.”

“How is Mr. Grant?” Ezra asked. “I tried to pull Phil’s shot, but…”

“It’s DiNozzo, and he’s fine thanks to you,” Gibbs replied. “You’ll get to see him soon. At the hospital.”

“But…But—“

“No buts, Ezra, get in the damn truck,” Chris said with a touch of exasperation.

Gibbs opened the door for the man and they both stared at him.

“Good Lord, I thought one Larabee was bad enough,” Standish said cringing back from the dual stares.

“You’ve got no idea, brother,” Sanchez said helping him in with a smile.

Gibbs looked over at Larabee and asked, “What are they talking about?”

“No idea,” the man replied and headed for the driver’s side.

Gibbs shot a confused look over at McGee and he could see his agent trying not to laugh. The chuckling quickly died when he saw he was being observed.

“Me either, boss,” Tim said quickly and followed JD.

****

Tony hated having oxygen tubes stuck under his nose. They dried it out and made it all red. He probably looked like Rudolf ready for flight. He blinked his eyes open. The last time he’d been awake he was sure he’d heard Ducky droning on about something. It was comforting. And once, he was sure he’d felt the patented Gibbs stare, but he just couldn’t seem to open his eyes to meet it. Now there was someone else in the room, but they were quiet. He was expecting Ziva when he opened his eyes.

“Wow, you look about as good as I feel,” he croaked out. Bennett—no, that wasn’t his name—smiled faintly. With the split swollen lip and swollen eye it looked a bit gruesome.

“Yes, I must apologize for my appearance. My former employer was less than pleased to know that I had been double crossing him with a seller such as yourself.”

“What?”

“Lichtermann had me followed occasionally. His man saw your charming Ms. David meet me at the bar and followed her back to her vehicle to ask her some questions. Imagine his surprise when she was picked up by the dashing Mr. Grant that was going to sell us weapons.”

“He thought you were making a move on the business?” Tony asked fighting the bed controls to sit up a bit. Standish took pity on him and reached over to adjust the bed for him.

“Yes, he didn’t realize I wasn’t what I was pretending to be until my companions came to my rescue. The hit at the meet was a misunderstanding.”

Tony tried to laugh at this, but the pain it caused across his chest had him curled up and coughing, which hurt even worse. Standish leaned forward with concern and reached for the call button, but Tony stopped him. Once the coughing subsided Tony leaned back and realized he still had a hold of Standish’s hand. He shook it and said, “Tony DiNozzo. Nice to meet you.”

“Ezra Standish, and the pleasure is all mine.”

“Thanks for saving my life, Ezra”

“I wish I could have done more. But I must say for once, it’s nice not to be the one that got shot.”

Tony blinked at this and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Well, usually when we have a dangerous case, and I find that an inordinate number of our cases are, I’m the one that ends up catching bullets. Well, Mr. Tanner and I are running neck-and-neck in that regard, but still…”

“Remind me never to come back to Denver.”

Standish chuckled at this and then winced holding his own ribs. They certainly made a pair. Tony let out a sigh. The room was quiet for a moment before he looked back over at Ezra. The man had pulled out a deck of cards and was shuffling them in his hands efficiently.

“Deal me in.”

“Certainly.”

“So what are you doing in here? Where is everybody?”

“Mr. Gibbs and the others are meeting with the incident board. There were some casualties when they came to retrieve me. I’m sure that they’ll all be labeled good shots, but we have to follow the procedure. I think Ms. David and Doctor Mallard went back to your hotel to rest since they weren’t involved. Ziva assured me that she would be back in a couple of hours. I’m currently hiding from Mr. Jackson.”

“Hiding?”

“He can be a bit forthright when one of us is injured.”

“Sounds like Abby.”

“I have yet to meet Ms. Sciuto, but JD assures me that she is fine young lady. Buck on the other hand seems to think all NCIS women are a menace.”

Tony snorted and replied, “Just because none of them are interested in them.”

“Just goes to show their intelligence. Card?”

“Two.”

Ezra dealt two cards to Tony and then one for himself. He stared at his hand a moment before laying out a straight, eight of clubs high. Tony looked down at his measly pair of threes and tossed his cards onto the bed. Ezra retrieved them with a smile and reshuffled.

“It’s bad enough I got shot, but now I’m playing cards with a guy that can draw to an inside straight and win. I give up,” Tony murmured.

“You should play with my mother. Sometimes I wonder if she bends the laws of space and time to get the hands she does.”

“Does she cheat?”

“Oh most definitely, but seeing as how I do too when I play her you think it would even out. Not so much I’m afraid.”

“You should come to Washington,” Tony said suddenly surprising both Ezra and himself. “I could show you some spots, we could make a killing.”

“It has been a long time since I’ve been to the capitol. Alas, I don’t have many friends there.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep the FBI off of you. They’re all scared of Gibbs anyway.”

Ezra gave Tony a sharp look. Tony gave his biggest smile in response. That seemed to put the former FBI agent at peace. He nodded slightly and dealt the cards again.

“Want to hear something funny?” Ezra asked. At Tony’s nod he continued, “It turns out that Chris is quite the fan of Thom E. Gemcity. You should have seen his face when he found out that Agent McGee was the one writing the books. You should’ve also have seen the looks he started giving Gibbs.

Tony gave a light chuckle with a hand holding his wound.

“Yeah we’ve teased McGeek constantly. He insists that the books characters are fictional and aren’t based on us, but come on!”

Tony looked down at his hand and found that this time he had a full house. He glanced over at Ezra, but the man was intent on his cards and wouldn’t look up. He leaned back into the pillow with a smile. Standish definitely had to come to Washington.

They spent the better part of two hours playing cards and talking. Sometimes about work, but mostly about places they’d been and funny stories about their teammates. Tony found the time passed quickly. It was probably the longest he’d been awake since he’d gotten out of surgery. The fun was put to an end when Jackson showed up. He spoke kindly to Tony, but his tone completely changed when he turned to Ezra. The southerner rolled his eyes at Tony as the taller man pulled him out of the chair and then out back to his own room. Tony grinned at him and waved goodbye. He must have fallen back asleep because when he opened his eyes Gibbs was sitting in the chair that Ezra had vacated.

“Gibbs.”

“How you doing, Tony?”

“Good. When are they letting me out of here?”

“It’ll be a while. With that lung they don’t want the pressure from air travel to cause any more damage. Ziva, Ducky, and McGee are going back to headquarters. I asked Jenny for some time so that you wouldn’t be stuck out here by yourself.”

Tony grinned and looked away from Gibbs. He said, “I appreciate that.”

“Well, Larabee offered to let me stay up at his ranch. He’s got some horses.”

“A vacation? You getting soft?” he asked with his eyes feeling heavy.

Gibbs shot him a sharp look and said, “Remind me to give you a smack when you’re better. Now go back to sleep. I’m here.”

Tony nodded and closed his eyes. Right before he fell asleep again he whispered, “Thanks, boss.”

As usual, he didn’t get a reply.


End file.
